Adjustable partition wall



lVl. -KOTUN.

ADJUSTABLE'PARTITION WALL.

APPLICATIION man 05c. 15, 1920.

Patented June 27, 1922.

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ADJUSTABLE PARTITION WALL.

APPLICATION FILED 020.15. 1920.

Patented J e 27, 1922'. j

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MICHAEL KOTUN, OF NEW GENEVA, PENNSYLVANIA.

'A'DJUSTABLE PARTITION WALL.

.Specihcation of Letters Patent. Patented June 27, 1922 Applicationfiled December 15, 1920; Serial 1\To '430,849.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that'I, MICHAEL KoTUN, citizen of Czecho-Slovakia, residingat New Geneva, in the county of Fayettean'd State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable PartitionWalls, of which the following is a specification. 1

This invention relates to an adjustable partition wall adapted forapplication to buildings of any kind in which a variation of the size ofany of the rooms: or apart ments, may be desirable, the maximum crpacityof many rooms or'halls beingionly needed on certain occasions and aconsiderable saving of fuel in ,cold weather being effected by reducingthe size of such hall or apartment.

The invention has for a" general object to provide an adjustable wallfor this purpose which may be easily and quickly 'moved from oneposition to another.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the follow ing descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

Fig. 1 of the drawings is a horizontal sectional view showing theadjustable wall, this view being taken on the plan indicated by the line11 of Fig. 2 and indicating also the side walls of the room to which itis applied.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the wall, this view being taken on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1 and showing also the floor and ceiling of the room.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the adjustable wall, showing portions ofthe fixed side walls in transverse section, one of the facing members oftheadjustable wall being partly broken away to show the adjustingmechanism enclosed within the wall.

Fig. 4 isa detail elevation, showing the weight for moving the wall'i'none direction, with parts of its supporting ropes, this view being takenlooking in the same direction as Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail fragmentary elevation of the device for locking thedoor in position.

Referring now to the drawings, the side walls of a room, hall or otherapartment to which the invention-is aijiplied are indicated at 10, theceiling at 11 andthe floor at 12.

I A's-here embodied my improved adjustable wall comprises the front andrear face members 13 and- 14 fixed upon opposite sides of a series ofvertical posts 15, the space enclosed between the face members 13 and 14being adapted to contain the adjusting mechanism. It'isto be understoodof course that the movable wall corresponds in area to thecross-sectional area of the hall or apartment.

' For adjusting this wall a pair of racks 18 are fixed to the ceiling 11adjacent the side f walls 10, while a second pair of like racks 19 .arefixed to' the floor, these racks running {parallel to the side walls 10,or in the'direction of movement ofthe adjustable wall, which latter hasnotches such as 20 and 21 'cut in the-upperan'dlower edges thereof toextended portion -and meshing with one of the racks 19. A second shaft30 is alined with the shaft 24 and extends between and is journaled inthe opposite outer side post 15 and the adjacent intermediate one, thisshaft 30 having a gear 31 thereon meshing with the other rack 19.Extending from side to side of the movable wall near the top thereof isanother shaft 32 upon opposite ends of which are fixed a pair of gears33 meshing with the racks 18 on the ceiling 11. Upon this upper shaft 32are fixed a pair of sprocket wheels, such as 34, over which are loopedchains 35 which extend in vertical reaches and are looped at their lowerendsover sprocket wheels such as 36 fixed on the alined shafts 24 and30.

As shown in the drawings the inner ends of the shafts 24 and 30 aresupported in adjacent ones of the intermediate posts 15 while ahorizontal beam 37 extends between such posts at a suitable height toform the lintel of a door frame. The facing members 13 and 14 do notextend across the space 38 thus formed which may be closed by anordinary hinged door 39. The crank handle 27 for shaft 22 is located inthis space while an operating handle for the locking means of the wallis also disposed in this space as will be presently set forth.

The means for locking the wall in selected positions comprises pairs ofvertically slidable bolts 40, 41 arranged in vertical alinement on theface 13 of the wall and slidably guided thereon by the straps 42. Thesebolts have their operating ends offset as at 40, 41' and adapted to takeover blocks 43, 44 fixed on the racks 18 and 19 respectively. The blocks43, 44 are suitably spaced along the racks and may be secured thereto byscrews 45, while additional screw-holes may be provided in the racks ifdesired to permit of adjustment of the blocks to different positions. Tomove these bolts 40, 41 into and out of engaging position with theblocks a horizontal rock-shaft 50 is mounted in the wall and has fixedthereto a pair of doubleended rock-levers 51 which are connected 'to theupper and lower bolts by the rigid links 52 and 53. Fixed on therock-shaft 50 above the door opening 38 is an arm 54 to the free end ofwhich is attached a vertical rod 55 extending downwardly into the dooropening and having a handle 56 on its lower end. The blocks 43 and 44are preferably beveled off at one side as at 43, 44 to allow the boltsto ride freely thereover when the wall is being moved to decrease thesize of the room.

The wall is preferably normally urged in the direction to enlarge theapartment by means of a weight 58 carried by a horizontal bar 59suspended at opposite ends in ropes 60 which are looped through eyes 61on the end of the bar, the two reaches of each rope extending upwardlyover pulleys 62 mounted in the ceiling 11, one end of each ropeconnecting to the upper part of the wall and the opposite end being ledaround pulleys 63 and 64 to connect to the lower part of the door.

It is believed that the manner of use and adjustment of the wall will beapparent from the foregoing description, it being obvious that the bolts40 and 41, when in look ing position resist the action of weight 58 sothat the wall is held in adjusted position, while it can be readilymoved by first pulling handle 56 and withdrawing. the bolts from theblocks 43, 44 and then rota-ting crank handle 27.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows 1. In abuilding, a wall for a hall or apartment adjustable to vary the size ofsuch hall or apartment, and means for adjusting said wall, said meansincluding racks fixed in the ceiling and floor of said apartment, gearsmeshing with said racks, horizontal shafts mounted in the door near thetop and bottom thereof and having said gears fixed thereon, a train ofreducing gears for operating the lower of said shafts, and sprocketchain and wheel connections between said shafts.

2. A device of the class described, comprising a wall, mechanical meansfor moving said wall horizontally in one direction, a weight for movingsaid wall in an opposite direction, and silidable bolts carried by saidwall and engaging fixed elements to hold said wall against the action ofsaid weight.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

MICHAEL KOTUN.

